i just buy the #10 cans 0f meat.
i found that the meals were too full of filler and spices that left an after taste.burping up Chile Mac all evening and making a extra bannock to kill the stomach burn was not worth it.
here's my take on the meats.the beef tastes like beef but turns to dust from handling in the can.on canoe trips i had to put it in a hard plastic jar to keep the bits from crumbling.the freeze dry pork chops are very good,real pork centers but they need to be soaked in hot water for a long time to soften up.i put one in the left over hot water i made for tea when i pulled into camp and a few hours later at dinner they were still to hard to fry,i chopped it up and boiled it it a stew for dinner and it was still chewy.next time i would put the chop in a zip lock with hot water at breakfast and hope it would be ready by dinner.
the sausage bits are tasty,they don't crumble like the beef but have a very strong taste of pepper and the other spices that go into sausage.i used it for adding to rice packs.
the chicken will most likely be my choice for meals on the trip this year.i'll add 3/4 of a cup to a rice pack and get more of a meal than the single serving freeze dry chicken packs,and chicken tastes,well like chicken,so it can go into anything without a after taste.